Sebring: Corvette Racing hour four notes

Sebring Four-Hour Report: Corvette Racing 1-2 in GT1
New C6.Rs Fourth and Fifth Overall
SEBRING, Fla., March 19, 2005 - "So far, so good." Those four words from
GM Racing program manager Doug Fehan sum up the first third of the Mobil
1 Twelve ...

SEBRING, Fla., March 19, 2005 - "So far, so good." Those four words from
GM Racing program manager Doug Fehan sum up the first third of the Mobil
1 Twelve Hours of Sebring for Corvette Racing.

At the four-hour mark, Corvette Racing's new C6.Rs were running first and
second in the GT1 class. The No. 4 Compuware Corvette driven by Oliver
Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen had completed 112 laps, placing
it fourth overall in the standings and five laps behind the leading Audi
LMP1. Twenty-one seconds behind its teammate and fifth overall was the
No. 3 Compuware Corvette of Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis.

The Corvettes have had a trouble-free run so far, pitting only for
refueling, fresh tires and driver changes. All six Corvette Racing
drivers completed their stints in the first four hours. Fellows and
Gavin, who started in the No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, were back in for
their second stints at the four-hour mark.

As predicted, the GT1 category is a shootout in Sebring, with two Aston
Martins on the same lap as the yellow Corvettes. A Saleen S7R and Ferrari
550 are two laps behind the leading quartet in GT1.

"Doing battle with the Aston Martins was a whole lot of fun," said Johnny
O'Connell after his stint in the No. 3 Corvette C6.R. "If we were in a
sprint race I'd have been more aggressive, but we had some fun going
side-by-side through Turn 1 and giving each other a lot of respect.

"Everything on our car is good," said O'Connell, who is aiming for a
record seventh victory in Sebring. "But I've been here enough time to
know it's a long, long, long way to the finish."

"The whole Corvette Racing team has worked very hard during the winter,
and we see the results today," said Olivier Beretta, who took the second
stint in the No. 4 Corvette. "Oliver (Gavin) did a fantastic job at the
start as he always does, and I have tried to do my best. The gearbox is
perfect and the handling is very neutral. We still have to be focused,
but we have a very good package."

"I'm very happy with how everything went," said Jan Magnussen after
taking the third stint in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R. "I wasn't too lucky in
traffic and got stuck behind some slower cars, but the car is working
well and the tires are great. If we keep going like this we can get a
good result."

"The track is very slick in spots," reported Max Papis after handing off
the No. 3 Corvette C6.R to Fellows. "This is the warmest part of the day
so far, and I was expecting the car to slide around. I didn't want to
take any risks, and we have a long way to go. We can make some tire
pressure adjustments and bring the No. 3 Corvette to the front again."

The 12-hour race will conclude at 10:45 p.m. ET. The event is televised
live on SPEED.